No coach power

[ablarson]

My coach batteries are dead and the alternator or shore power isn't charging them. Generator won't start because coach batteries are dead. I've checked all the fuses and breakers I can find in the battery compartment and in the electrical compartment. Any ideas?

I've left messages for Dynamax service and Coach net. Supposed to be on the road tomorrow morning.


Newbie
19 States
2016 Dynamax Force HD

[ablarson]

Jump started the generator and still not charging the coach batteries.


Newbie
19 States
2016 Dynamax Force HD

[bclemens]

Got it. I'll run down there and see if anyone is aware. Also ask the production guys.

[FOURWHL]

Do you have the Xantrex controller? If so make sure the Charger is enabled?

[bclemens]

1. is the Shore power good? May not be charging the batteries, but do you have 110V?
2. Now that your gen is running, do you have 110V in the rest of the coach?

[viperdave]

Originally Posted by FOURWHL

Do you have the Xantrex controller? If so make sure the Charger is enabled?

This is what happened to me. had to get the Xantrex controller set to charge enabled. Kids just started pressing buttons to clear a fault instead of READINGS the display.

[ablarson]

It's my understanding that the inverter has nothing to do with charging.

From the little bit of troubleshooting I just did it appears as though all the relay triggers are ran off the coach batteries. So, if your coach batteries are dead the only way to charge them is with an external charger because they won't kick on the relays needed to open up and charge. Also you can start your generator if your coach batteries go dead. This doesn't seem like a very well thought out system? It's also very frustrating not to have a generator autostart feature if it's going to be wired this way.

It appears as though when I plugged it into 110 the internal charger would kick on and then kick off. Same with the generator. I'm guessing the batteries were so dead it was going into protection.

I just added a 2250 CCA AGM battery to the mix and put a 50 amp charger on it for about an hour. Now when I plug in the 110 the onboard charger appears to be staying on and charging. I'll know more in a few hours.

Thanks for getting that guy to call me so quickly Bryan.


Newbie
19 States
2016 Dynamax Force HD

[FOURWHL]

The inverter and charger are two different devices within the same housing. They can both be cycled on and off independently.

FWIW the auto gen start isnt the answer to all problems by any stretch. On two separate occasions somehow the charger got swapped off on me (still haven't figured that one out but it seems to default to off somehow) and when the generator kicked on it just ran for 12 hours without doing any chargers then got cutoff because of time.

In the end I've disabled the AGS and just manage my batteries manually. I like having the control over when I do my charging anyways and just like at home when the power goes off, the fridge is fine for a couple of hours if it loses power.

Whenever I leave it and am not using it both battery cutoffs get turned off.

Glad you got it up and running for your trip!

[bclemens]

1. I never made it down to service. I was talking to guys on the line...unfortunately as with anything there are more questions than answers sometimes in trying to troubleshoot. So if Service called back...that was all them. Which is how it should work.

2. AGS is something that can be added.

3. FOURWHL is correct (with an asterisk). The DX3 and the Force are two different models and use different parts. On the DX3 we use an Inverter/Charger for various reasons. Some of that methodology may trickle down to the Force models...but we were using a standard converter/charger on the Force, with a separate inverter. I'd have to double check what we're doing today...because I've asked for a lot of things, but they do take time to implement.

[FOURWHL]

Thanks for clarifying! Didnt realize there were that many differences between the two.

I'll stop chiming in like I know what I'm talking about on other models and leave it to the pros

[bclemens]

lol...no, I'd rather have more help than I need than not enough. I'll just nudge and guide from time to time.

[BLK-9]

This is good stuff. Never know when ya might come across a similar issue.


Mike
2016 Force HD

[AWF1945]

Originally Posted by FOURWHL

Thanks for clarifying! Didnt realize there were that many differences between the two.

I'll stop chiming in like I know what I'm talking about on other models and leave it to the pros

I would have thought the same thing... it would be simpler to have the same systems across the board.

[bclemens]

In theory, but then we'd only have one price point.

[ablarson]

Well, still no go. I pulled both the old batteries out because I think they are cooked and didn't want to take a chance that they might be throwing something into protect.

I disconnected the main power feed going to the coach batteries and put a meeter on it. It never gets power on it. Not with shore power and not with the generator. One time I was able to get power on it with the truck started but that was it.

I opened up the device on the right (big black box) and you can see the relay kick in on both shore power and generator. I metered 120v at all points so current is passing through it.

I opened up the inverter and was also able to meeter 120v on the output side.

I couldn't find an emergency start anywhere? Thought there was supposed to be a switch that would allow you to connect coach and start batteries. Start batteries are getting charged off alternator when running.

Tried with power inverter turned on and off. Coach power turned on and off. Neither made a difference.

Checked all fuses under hood, in electrical bay, and back by fuse panel inside. All good.

Is there an on board battery charger? Is the shore power and generator supposed to charge coach batteries?



Newbie
19 States
2016 Dynamax Force HD

[bclemens]

In a product meeting right now. I'll grab my electrical engineering right after. I already sent him your post and he was looking over it this morning.

[bclemens]

Yes. Batteries should charge in (3) different ways.
1. Off shore power through the charge line built into the converter.
2. On generator power, through the charge line built into the converter
3. When truck is running through alternator.

Emergency start switch is on the dash. I think the switches we bought for a while were labeled ABS...not sure why...that was just the way the switches came in from Freightliner.

The charger is part of the converter. It is part of the breaker box in the bed base. There are (2) fairly heavy red cables that come off the back. (1) is the main feed for 12V, the other is the charge line going to the battery.

Is there a brand name on the converter? Sounds like it might be a bad converter.

[bclemens]

If you have AC power everywhere else, it tells me the transfer switch is worked. The next step in from there is the Converter. That would be my first suspect. If those get surges, it can act as a sacrificial lamb to prevent damage elsewhere.

Now, there should be a breaker on the panel that says "converter or converter charger". Make sure that is not tripped. Word of caution, one might not looked tripped, but it still might be. Their "tripped state" is not very far from normal. So make sure you trip that and then reset it, just to be sure.

As a side note...When we were testing converters, one of the things we did was to take a totally depleted battery to see if the charger would recognize it properly. While both convertors worked, I felt like the Progressive Dynamics, did a better job of going into bulk mode quicker.

[halla]

On the regular Force there is a battery disconnect on the top inside of the battery compartment. Ours was off and I couldn't figure out why the batteries wouldn't charge. Red master switch top right in our battery compartment.


2016 Dynamax Force. Just-Rite2

[bclemens]

OOh, this too. Good call.